THE ADVENTURES OF GARRY AND ANDREW, TWO AUSTRALIANS RELOCATING FROM MOORE PARK GARDEN IN CENTRAL SYDNEY TO SWISS COTTAGE IN NORTH WEST LONDON; AND BACK AGAIN.

Saturday, February 2

Siding Springs

How about a trip down memory lane?Over the years I’ve published numerous posts
about my growing list of space tourism excursions.You’ll recall I’ve visited Star City near Moscow,
watched a Space Shuttle launch and clambered through the bowels of a Titan
Missile silo.The vast majority of these
adventures have taken place overseas. Australia isn’t exactly the centre of
space and aeronautic technology.

I was reminded of one such visit recently after a
devastating bush fire swept through the Siding Springs area on January 13.The media published dramatic images of a wall
of orange flames rising over the Anglo-Australian optical telescope’s dazzling
white dome. You can see one such photo published by the Sydney Morning Herald above.Many feared the worst.Exactly ten years earlier bush fires
completely destroyed the Mount Stromlo observatory on the outskirts of
Canberra.At the time similar images
showed flames raging around the observatory’s distinctive dome.However, this time the news was good.The giant 4-metre optical
telescope and the nearby 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Springs escaped unharmed.

Garry and I visited Siding Springs over a long weekend in March
2005.I’d timed our trip to coincide
with a rare public open day at the observatory. We cashed in some frequent
flyer points, flew to Dubbo on a Friday morning, hired a car and spent four
days exploring the area.We based ourselves
in Dubbo for the first night.While
there we explored the expansive Western Springs Zoo, where a friendly giraffe
gave me a terrifying tongue link.I’d
been invited to feed it carrots by the attending zoo keeper.

On Saturday we drove to Coonabarabran, a small town roughly
27kms away from Siding Springs.We
attended the Open Day tours on Sunday. Garry will reluctantly admit that the
experience proved more interesting than expected.Both of us were surprised to discover that
Siding Springs is actually home to almost a dozen different telescopes, most of
which were open to the public.Resident
astronomers spent the day taking small groups on tours through the facilities
culminating in a visit to the impressive Anglo Australian telescope.

The giant telescope is housed in a 26 metre high dome that
sits on a remote hill on the eastern edge of the Western Plains.It was built to provide astronomers with
optical observing capabilities previously limited to the Northern Hemisphere.The telescope was commissioned in 1974, giving
eager astronomers an unrivaled ability to study phenomenon only visible in the
southern sky.This includes the centre
of our own Milky Way Galaxy and its nearest galactic neighbours, the Magellanic
Clouds.

During our tour I vividly recall seeing the giant 4-metre
telescope being gracefully pivoted on its equatorial mounting.The ease with which the instrument moved was
astonishing given that it weighs a staggered 260 tonnes. Our guide later
explained that the telescope rarely moves in this manner.She explained that it typically inches along,
following the track of stars as they move across the night sky. It seems that
the telescope’s chief engineer had decided to put on a bit of a show for the
visitors. We were delighted!

Later that evening, Garry and I booked a night sky
observation dinner in Coonabarabran. With Siding Springs nearby, many of the
town’s residents are employed by the observatory.As a result, Coonabarabran boosts a number of
impressive amateur telescopes and knowledgeable astronomers.We spent a fascinating evening at the local Warrumbungle
Observatory viewing Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon’s cratered surface.

The final day of our vacation was spent back in Dubbo touring the city's infamous goal and the underworld delights of the Wellington Caves, located about 40 minutes south. The caves proved particularly interesting. We joined the Cathedral cave tour which takes visitors past a breath-taking 15-metre high 'Altar', a magnificent combination of boulders, flowstone and stalagmites covered in glittering crystal calcite. However, for me, the real highlight was an opportunity to handle fossilised bones miners had extracted from neighbouring mine shafts.

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About Me

Andrew and Garry relocated to London from Sydney, Australia in October 2005; before retracing their steps in January 2011. For five years they called the London suburb of Swiss Cottage home.
Andrew dedicates his life to roaming the globe, sometimes for pleasure, but usually for business. There's an ozone hole up there with his name on it.
Garry manages the household's wireless network, transforming odd bits of wire and cable into the ultimate home office environment. His spare time is devoted to fulfilling the world’s need for educational charts and eco-friendly wooden toys.